Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 3.342 million (2012); mobile cellular: 13.59 million (2012).
Broadcast media: Austria's public broadcaster, Osterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), was the main broadcast source until commercial radio and TV service was introduced in the 1990s; cable and satellite TV are available, including German TV stations (2008). Internet hosts:
3.512 million (2012). Internet users: 6.143 million
(2011).

Geography

Slightly smaller than Maine, Austria includes
much of the mountainous territory of the eastern Alps (about 75% of the
area). The country contains many snowfields, glaciers, and snowcapped
peaks, the highest being the Grossglockner (12,530 ft; 3,819 m). The
Danube is the principal river. Forests and woodlands cover about 40% of
the land.

Government

Federal republic.

History

Settled in prehistoric times, the central
European land that is now Austria was overrun in pre-Roman times by
various tribes, including the Celts. After the fall of the Roman Empire,
of which Austria was part, the area was invaded by Bavarians and Slavic
Avars. Charlemagne conquered the area in 788 and encouraged colonization
and Christianity. In 1252, Ottokar, king of Bohemia, gained possession,
only to lose the territories to Rudolf of Hapsburg in 1278. Thereafter,
until World War I, Austria's history was largely that of its ruling house,
the Hapsburgs. Austria emerged from the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as the
continent's dominant power. The Ausgleich of 1867 provided for a
dual sovereignty, the empire of Austria and the kingdom of Hungary, under
Franz Joseph I, who ruled until his death on Nov. 21, 1916. The
Austrian-Hungarian minority rule of this immensely diverse empire, which
included German, Czech, Romanian, Serbian, and many other lands, became
increasingly difficult in an age of emerging nationalist movements. When
Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in
Sarajevo in 1914, World War I, as well as the destruction of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, began.

During World War I, Austria-Hungary was one of
the Central powers with Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey, and the conflict
left the country in political chaos and economic ruin. Austria, shorn of
Hungary, was proclaimed a republic in 1918, and the monarchy was dissolved
in 1919. A parliamentary democracy was set up by the constitution of Nov.
10, 1920. To check the power of Nazis advocating union with Germany,
Chancellor Engelbert Dolfuss in 1933 established a dictatorship, but he
was assassinated by the Nazis on July 25, 1934. Kurt von Schuschnigg, his
successor, struggled to keep Austria independent, but on March 12, 1938,
German troops occupied the country, and Hitler proclaimed its
Anschluss (union) with Germany, annexing it to the Third Reich.

An Independent Austria Establishes Constitutional Neutrality

After World War II, the United States and
Britain declared the Austrians a “liberated” people, but the Russians
prolonged the occupation. Finally Austria concluded a state treaty with
the USSR and the other occupying powers and regained its independence on
May 15, 1955. The second Austrian republic, established Dec. 19, 1945, on
the basis of the 1920 constitution (amended in 1929), was declared by the
federal parliament to be permanently neutral.

Austria Establishes Neutrality

On June 8, 1986, former UN secretary-general
Kurt Waldheim was elected to the ceremonial office of president in a
campaign marked by controversy over his alleged links to Nazi war crimes
in Yugoslavia. Austria became a member of the European Union in 1995, but
it retained its strict constitutional neutrality and forbade the
stationing of foreign troops on its soil.

In Feb. 2000, the conservative People's Party
formed a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, headed by Jörg
Haider. A nationalist against immigration, Haider had made several
controversial remarks praising some Nazi policies, which he has since
recanted. His gradual rise to power was credited to voters weary of
decades of stasis under the rule of the Social Democrats. The European
Union condemned Austria's new coalition, froze diplomatic contacts, and
imposed sanctions, accusing Haider of being a racist, xenophobe, and Nazi
sympathizer. Given the controversy, Haider chose not to join the
government, but he continued to wield influence from the sidelines.

Failed Coalitions Hinder the Republic's Government

In Sept. 2002, the coalition between the
People's Party and the Freedom Party dissolved after a shake-up in the
Freedom Party, instigated by Haider. In Nov. 2002, the People's Party made
large gains in general elections. After failed coalition talks with other
parties, the People's Party again formed a government with the Freedom
Party in Feb. 2003. A government plan to overhaul the country's pension
program led to widespread strikes in May and June 2003—the first national
strikes in decades.

In 2004, Heinz Fischer, known as
the “left conscience” of the Social Democrat Party, was elected to the
largely ceremonial role of president.

Austria's tough laws against Nazi propaganda led
to a three-year prison sentence for infamous British historian David
Irving, who pleaded guilty in Feb. 2006 to denying the Holocaust. In Dec.
2006, he was released from prison early, and deported to England.

Three months after elections, Austria's two main
parties formed a coalition government in Jan. 2007. The leader of the
Social Democrats, Alfred Gusenbauer, became chancellor.

Parliament passed a law in June 2007 that
lowered the voting age in Austria to 16.

Infighting Causes Government Collapse

On July 7, 2008, the Austrian government
collapsed after months of struggling between the two major political
parties, the Social Democratic Party and the People's Party. Elections are
expected to be held in September. The chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer,
announced that he would not run for reelection. The new Social Democratic
Party leader and transport minister, Werner Faymann, will be the Social
Democrat candidate.

In September 2008, the right-wing parties made
tremendous gains in parliamentary elections. The Social Democratic Party
of Austria won 29.3% of the vote (57 of 183 seats), the Austrian People's
Party 26% (51), the Freedom Party of Austria 17.5% (34), the Alliance for
the Future of Austria 10.7% (21), the Greens 10.4% (20), and the Liberal
Forum 2.1% (0). Turnout was 78.8%. On October 8, 2008, Faymann was asked by President Fischer to form a new government.

On October 11, 2008, during a crucial time in
Austrian politics, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Future of
Austria, Jorg Haider, died in a car crash. On November 23, 2008, a coalition was agreed upon. Faymann began serving as Chancellor of Austria on December 2, 2008.

Parliament Passes Controversial Reforms to Regulate Islam

In Feb. 2015, the Austrian parliament passed controversial reforms in an effort to control Islamist radicalism. The reforms were to the 1912 law that made Islam an official religion in Austria. The new legislation bans any foreign funding for mosques or imams. However, there were no similar bans made for other religions. For example, Christians could still receive foreign funding for their churches.

The new legislation was condemned internationally. Mehmet Gormez, leader of Turkey's religious affairs, released this statement, “Austria will go back 100 years in freedom with its Islam bill.” In Austria, there are roughly half a million Muslims, about 6% of the population.